Gopher Resistant Plants: Truth & Fictionhttp://tastylandscape.com/2013/08/28/gopher-resistant-plants-truth-and-lies/
http://tastylandscape.com/2013/08/28/gopher-resistant-plants-truth-and-lies/#commentsWed, 28 Aug 2013 06:30:12 +0000http://tastylandscape.com/?p=1094The gopher problem: Gophers can (and will) do a tremendous amount of damage to your garden and yard. Those ravenous bottom dwellers will not only destroy your valuable plants but their holes are also a walking hazard. In general, the roots of most plants need to be protected from these subterranean raiders. My favorite defensive ...

The gopher problem:

Gophers can (and will) do a tremendous amount of damage to your garden and yard.

Those ravenous bottom dwellers will not only destroy your valuable plants but their holes are also a walking hazard.

In general, the roots of most plants need to be protected from these subterranean raiders. My favorite defensive maneuver is to install a protective gopher cage at planting (there are also many other ways of dealing with these destructive critters; perhaps that is a topic for a different day).

However, there are a select few plants that don’t seem to need any special protection from the little furry terrorists and that is the topic of this discussion.

Pocket gopher photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_gopher

Gopher resistant plants (overview):

There are a select few plants that have a natural resistance to gophers.

The following list has been compiled from direct experience and legend.

The direct experience part comes from the fact that I have a major gopher problem in one part of my yard. This war zone has proven to be a testing ground for gopher-plant resistance.

The legend part is just that; hearsay, rumors and talk. Some of it is true, some of it has been proven to be false and some of it is a work in progress.

Please let me know if you have any specific experience or suggestions. I will add your insight (with you as a reference) to this post.

Note: The photographs are of plants in my garden unless credited otherwise.

The following article is organized into 3 basic categories and presented in this order:

However, the potency of the euphorbia sap is variable depending on the particular species of plant. This variability is likely why some types of euphorbia are safe from gophers and other species of euphorbia plants are just another potential gopher victim. On that note, I have heard that some gophers have actually eaten the plant called gopher spurge (Euphorbia lathyris). I honestly find that hard to believe, but then again gophers are little furry monsters, so I guess its possible.

Below is a list of some of the euphorbia that are happily growing in my yard without any special gopher protection.

Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii)

Crown of Thorns, aka Euphorbia milii

Fire Sticks (Euphorbia tirucalli)

Fire Sticks, aka Euphorbia tirucalli

Baseball Plant (Euphorbia obesa)

Baseball Plant (Euphorbia obesa)

Indian Corn Cob (Euphorbia mammillaris)

Indian Corn Cob (Euphorbia mammillaris)

Cow’s Horn (Euphorbia grandicornis)

Cow’s Horn (Euphorbia grandicornis)

African Milk Barrel (Euphorbia horrid)

African Milk Barrel (Euphorbia horrid)

Tanzanian Zipper Plant (Euphorbia anoplia)

Tanzanian Zipper Plant (Euphorbia anoplia)

Candelabra Tree (Euphorbia ingens)

Candelabra Tree, aka Euphorbia ingens

Lavender (Lavandula)

Gophers have avoided every variety of lavender that I have planted: (Spanish, English, hybrid, etc).

Jose L Hernandez, a contributing reader from Gilroy, CA has been battling gophers for over 5 years. However, he states that the vermin have not eaten his Lavandula “Grosso’.

1/22/2014 Update:

Linda Melsher, a contributing reader shared that gophers have recently eaten her English Lavendar. This is the first time I have heard of this. However, it just goes to show that gophers will eat just about anything if they are hungry enough.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Sateesh Lele, a contributing reader from the Bay Area, shared that although he has a bad gopher problem they haven’t touched his lavender.

March 12, 2014 Update:

Marti Howell, a contributing reader living in the mountains of California shared some additional insight. Martin states that gophers recently ate an entire planting of 6 lavender plants! This is amazing and terrible news.

As of today: April 4, 2014 ,

I still have multiple varieties of lavender growing in the middle of my gopher war zone and they haven’t been touched… and are growing quite well. I am not sure what to make of some the other reports (see above).

May 4, 2014 Update:

Kimberly N, a contributing reader states that she has a major gopher problem and that they have eaten a lot of her plants but, “They don’t seem interested in the lavender, epilobium, or myoporum…”

French Lavender (Lavandula dentata)

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

I have large and small bushes of rosemary sitting on the edge of Gopher Country and the subterranean varmints steer clear of the fragrant plants.

Jose L Hernandez, a contributing reader from Gilroy, CA has been battling gophers for over 5 years. However, he states that the vermin have not eaten his rosemary.

Jan 14, 2014 Update:

Georgie Lee, a contributing reader from Southern California has shared some of her own gopher insight. Although gophers have eaten her agave and citrus, they don’t touch her rosemary or society garlic.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Tracie Mazlo, a contributing reader states, that although they have a very bad gopher problem, they have had good luck with rosemary.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Lantana (Lantana camara)

Lantana comes in a wide range of bright flowering colors. However, the strong odor of the leaves/stems is rather challenging. I personally can’t stand the smell of the leaves/stems. However, I have a friend that actually likes the smell (to each his own). To me ones with blue flowers smell the worst. Therefore, I can understand why gophers would have little interest in lantana. Different types of lantana have a different odor.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Sateesh Lele, a contributing reader from the Bay Area, shared that although he has a bad gopher problem they haven’t touched his lantana.

Lantana (Lantana camara)

Geranium (Pelargonium)

Geraniums have a distinctive aroma that is repels most animals. I suspect that it is this strong odor which is the main deterrent for the voracious underground herbivores.

Specifically, I have heard that the zonal and scented-leaf geraniums are more resistant to gopher attack than the ivy-leaf type of geranium.

Geranium are a great plant to propagate. For information on my scientific experiment to determine the best propagation method, check out the 11/29/14 article I wrote The best way to propagate geraniums.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Sateesh Lele, a contributing reader from the Bay Area, shared that although he has a bad gopher problem they haven’t touched his geranium’s.

Geranium

Ivy Geranium

Scented-leaf geranium

Pomegranate (Punica granatum)

Pomegranate gopher resistance is a bit of a quandary for me. The plants don’t give off a repulsive odor and the sap doesn’t seem particularly toxic; at least in my experience.

None the less, I took a chance on a roomer that pomegranates are resistant to gopher attack and planted a few pomegranates without cages. It’s been about 2 years since I planted them deep in Gopher Country and there has been no noticeable gopher damage to the pomegranates.

Sept 19, 2013 Update:

Kevin, who is a contributing reader, has shared some of his own personal gopher-pomegranate insight (This is an outline; his full text can be read in the comments section at the bottom of the page for Sept 19, 2013). Thanks Kevin.

In his experience, the gopher resistance of pomegranates depends on the cultivar.

Wonderful pomegranates are resistant.

A Pink Satin pomegranate was killed by gophers

Eversweet pomegranate has borderline resistance with gopher activity in the root zone.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Sateesh Lele, a contributing reader from the Bay Area, shared that although he has a bad gopher problem they haven’t touched his wonderful Pomegranate’s.

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus)

Rock Rose (Cistus)

I have no idea why gophers don’t touch the Rock Rose plant… They just don’t seem to like it. Mine has been growing quite well on the edge of gopher lands.

December 11, 2013 Update:

Jose L Hernandez, a contributing reader from Gilroy, CA has been battling gophers for over 5 years. However, he states that the vermin have not eaten his, Cistus ‘Doris Hibberson’

Rock Rose (Cistus)

Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica)

(It is not actually a bamboo despite the common name)

The plant contains hydrocyanic acid, which can be potentially fatal to people if ingested. The plant is attractive, grows very well in Southern California, and is well behaved. It seems to grow better when it is not in direct sunlight all day long. I have not had any problems with pests; specifically, it has been untouched by gophers in my yard.

March 12, 2014 Update:

Marti Howell, a contributing reader living in the mountains of California shared some additional insight. Martin states that gophers recently ate 3 Heavenly Bamboo in their yard after the gopher cage rotted away. What a bummer!

Nandina photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandina

Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha)

Probably all of the salvas offer some gopher resistance. However, the degree of resistance for this genus seems to be less than other plants in this category.

For example, I have noticed a lot of gopher activity in the middle of several S. leucantha bushes. The rodents don’t seem to do enough damage to completely kill the plant, but the critters do seem to munch on at least some of the plants roots. The affected plants are spindly and thinned looking compared to other S. leucantha that I have planted in non-gopher ridden areas of the yard.

Mexican sage (Salvia mexicana) with gopher hole in the center of the picture

Garlic (Allium sativum) & Society Garlic (Tulbaghia violacea)

Many say that gophers hate the strong smell of garlic.

However, I have also heard reports from the town of Gilroy (the garlic capital of California) that gophers are a significant problem for garlic growers there. So who knows; perhaps the Gilroy gophers have adapted to what is growing around them in abundance.

Personally, I have lots of society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) on the edge of Gopher Country and it has remained untouched. Note, society garlic is a different species than the culinary garlic that has been eaten by gophers in Gilroy, CA

Oct 29, 2013 Update:

Dallas, a contributing reader from Idaho says that potatoes, garlic, and onions are gopher food.

Jan 14, 2014 Update:

Georgie Lee, a contributing reader from Southern California has shared some of her own gopher insight. Although gophers have eaten her agave and citrus, they don’t touch her rosemary or society garlic.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Tracie Mazlo, a contributing reader states, that although they have a very bad gopher problem, they have had good luck with society garlic.

Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum)

Gophers don’t touch the Fountain Grass that has spread from my neighbors and is taking over a part of my yard. This African and Middle Eastern native plant has been very invasive in my area. The good and the bad news of this plant are the same: the good news is that gophers don’t seem to touch it. The bad news is that gophers don’t seem to touch it… and the sure-footed root system makes the plant a pain to pull up.

May 4, 2014 Update:

Kimberly N, a contributing reader states that, “… The gophers also ate at least four achillea and recently two large pennisetum. They don’t seem interested in the lavender, epilobium, or myoporum…”

Pine trees:

Anything that produces pine sap and/or pine cones has been safe from gophers in my yard.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Tracie Mazlo, a contributing reader states, that although they have a very bad gopher problem, they have had good luck with Junipers.

March 12, 2014 Update:

Marti Howell, a contributing reader living in the mountains of California shared some additional insight. Martin states that as far as they can tell, Gophers don’t eat their costal or interior redwoods.

Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia f. purpurea)

I have two Arabian Lilac that are living on the edge of my own personal gopher country and are growing very well.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Tracie Mazlo, a contributing reader states, that although they have a very bad gopher problem, they have had good luck with Arabian Lilac.

Grevillea:

Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species. These evergreen-pine looking Australian natives do very well in Southern California and the ones growing in my yard havent been touched by gophers… Although the ones I have are in an area that is not frequented by the raiders.

December 11, 2013 Update:

Jose L Hernandez, a contributing reader from Gilroy, CA has been battling gophers for over 5 years. However, he states that the vermin have not eaten his, Greviillea l. ‘Mt. Tamboritha’

Oleander (Nerium oleander)

This is one of the most toxic plants in the world and has been known to down a horse that has made a meal of its leaves. Apparently gophers somehow know this and don’t bother with the killer plant.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Sateesh Lele, a contributing reader from the Bay Area, shared that although he has a bad gopher problem they haven’t touched his Oleander’s.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Tracie Mazlo, a contributing reader states, “I planted Oleanders and within a week a gopher pulled two of them down into his hole, he destroyed the plants. There was nothing left but a few leaves and the pest is still alive.”

April 21, 2014 Update:

Terri, a contributing reader from the San Antonio, TX area has shared some additional gopher insight. Terri has a particularly bad gopher problem and they are doing a number on their Oleanders.

Reading these last two comments is hard to believe, but those freeking gophers are born from below.

Nerium oleander: Photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerium

Foxglove (digitalis)

The cardiac drug digitalis is derived from the foxglove plant. From a treatment standpoint, this medication is notoriously difficult to titrate and a slightly change in dose can stop your heart. Apparently, the plant tastes bitter and this flavor may be a warning for gophers to stay away.

Foxglove (Digitalis)

Naked ladies (Amaryllis belladonna)

The toxic alkaloid, lycorine, is the principal toxin in Amaryllis that gophers apparently know not to eat.

Amaryllis photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaryllis

Daffodils (Narcissus)

Daffodils are also filled with the toxic alkaloid, lycorine (see poison references above and below).

Columbine (Aquilegia)

The columbine roots contain cardiogenic toxins that are highly poisonous.

April 4, 2016 Update:

Cat Young, a contributing author adds that: “Gophers DO eat columbine. I lost all of mine two summers ago, and didn’t know what had happened until I personally witnessed a gopher pulling one of them underground from the roots, just like in the cartoons. I had always thought that was for comedic effect, but apparently its real. Maybe gophers in other areas won’t eat columbine, but here in Fresno I guess they are haute cuisine.

Monkey-flowers (Mimulus)

The Mimulus species tends to concentrate lots of salts from the soil into their tissues. As a result, the plant is very salty tasting. The plant also happens to taste bitter. This strong flavor may be why gophers don’t like these plants.

Mimulus photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimulus

Mint (Salvia)

The salva resistance does not seem to be as strong as other plants discussed above; see Mexican sage (Salvia mexicana) reference in the above category of this article.

White sage (Salvia apiana)

White sage seems to deter gophers for the same reasons as other plants in the Salvia genus.

However, religious movements have used “smudge sticks” made of white sage to ward off bad spirits, which seems appropriate in this situation considering that the little underground gopher fur-balls are basically evil.

White Sage (Salvia apiana)

Sweet clover (Melilotus indicus)

Some have reported that the weedy looking Sweet Clover is the only plant that will actually repel gophers.

Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis)

April 21, 2014 Update:

Terri, a contributing reader from the San Antonio, TX area has shared some additional gopher insight. Terri has a particularly bad gopher problem and has shared the news that gophers in their area will kill Indian Hawthorn (see Terri’s comment at the bottom of this page).

Rhaphiolepis photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhaphiolepis

California Lilac (Ceanothus)

Ceanothus photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceanothus

Breath of heaven (Coleonema)

December 11, 2013 Update:

Jose L Hernandez, a contributing reader from Gilroy, CA has been battling gophers for over 5 years. However, he states that the vermin have not eaten his, coleonema p. ‘Compacta’

Coleonema photo via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleonema

Strawberry tree (Arbutus)

Arbutus photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbutus

Bottlebrush (Callistemon)

April 21, 2014 Update:

Terri, a contributing reader from the San Antonio, TX area has shared some additional gopher insight. Terri has a particularly bad gopher problem and has shared the news that gophers in their area will kill Bottlebrush (see Terri’s comment at the bottom of this page).

That’s too bad for me, I just planted some unprotected Bottlebrush a few months ago in gopher country. I have not seen any gopher activity yet, but based on Terri’s report, I fear that it will juts be a matter of time. Ill keep you posted.

Callistemon photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callistemon

Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens)

March 12, 2014 Update:

Marti Howell, a contributing reader living in the mountains of California shared some additional insight. Martin states that as far as they can tell, Gophers don’t eat Deer Grass.

Redwoods (Sequoia and Sequoiadendron)

March 12, 2014 Update:

Marti Howell, a contributing reader living in the mountains of California shared some additional insight. Martin states that as far as they can tell, Gophers don’t eat their costal or interior redwoods.

Thanks Martin, this is not too surprising to me because, gophers dot seem to eat anything in my yard that produces a pine cone.

Palm Trees:

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Sateesh Lele, a contributing reader from the Bay Area, shared that although he has a bad gopher problem they haven’t touched his queen palms.

Coffeeberry aka California buckthorn (rhamnus californica)

December 11, 2013 Update:

Jose L Hernandez, a contributing reader from Gilroy, CA has been battling gophers for over 5 years. However, he states that the vermin have not eaten his rhamnus californica.

Arctostaphylos:

December 11, 2013 Update:

Jose L Hernandez, a contributing reader from Gilroy, CA has been battling gophers for over 5 years. However, he states that the vermin have not eaten his arctostaphylos m. ‘Dr. Hurd’

Euphorbia ‘Blackbird”

I have a lot of euphorbia growing around the yard…and as mentioned at the top of this post, gophers avoid them all. Contributing reader Jose Hernandez adds another species to the list I haven’t heard of (blackbird). Its a cool looking leafy euphorbia. Thanks Jose.

December 11, 2013 Update:

Jose L Hernandez, a contributing reader from Gilroy, CA has been battling gophers for over 5 years. However, he states that the vermin have not eaten his, Euphorbia ‘Blackbird”

Epilobium:

May 4, 2014 Update:

Kimberly N, a contributing reader states that she has a major gopher problem and that they have eaten a lot of her plants but, “They don’t seem interested in the lavender, epilobium, or myoporum…”

Plants that have been said to be Gopher resistant and actually are not:

Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis)

Man this lesson was a bummer for me. I bought a beautiful Bay laurel tree from a guy who grows them from seed. The seller really seemed to know his stuff so when he said that the pungent smell of the plant was too much for gophers I believed him.

Unfortunately, I discovered the hard way that he (and I) were wrong to follow that logic. Those darn gophers hit the base of the young bay laurel tree like it was gopher chocolate. The remaining stump looked like a beaver got to it.

Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis); notice the gopher cage on this one.

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)

Again, I took some bad advice (this time advice that I found online). I know, how dare I find info on line? Well, now I am much more careful about the source of the information I get.

Anyhow, I planted a really nice loquat without a gopher cage. Sadly, a gopher easily took it to the ground.

A Gopher killed this young Loquat tree. The stump looks like a beaver got to it.

Citrus (Citrus)

Citrus resistance to gopher damage is a bit controversial.

I have personally planted several citrus trees deep in Gopher Country and they have been doing just fine without any gopher cage protection. However, I am starting to regret this move because one of them was recently attacked by a gopher. After the gopher was.. uhh… “removed” the tree started to recover. So yea, gophers will eat citrus, but it doesn’t seem to be their top choice.

However, I have heard other people tell horror stories about how gophers killed their beloved citrus. That being said, it is interesting to note that several “organic” gopher repellent solutions (made to pour down their holes), contain some sort of citrus ingredient in them.

Jan 14, 2014 Update:

Georgie Lee, a contributing reader from Southern California has shared some of her own gopher insight. She informs that gophers have eaten her small orange trees stating, “They chew through the orange tree sapling trunk like an underground beaver”

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Sateesh Lele, a contributing reader from the Bay Area, shared that although he has a bad gopher problem said that he has lost at least a dozen orange trees to gophers.

Nagami Kumquat; a type of citrus

Cactus (Cactaceae)

Some sources say that gophers don’t eat cactus. I think this is false.

Perhaps cactus are not a gopher’s favorite food, but there is definitely gopher activity around some of my frightened cactus.

Agave (Agave)

I recently trimmed up a huge blue agave (Agave tequilana) in my yard. As I got into the task I started to notice the sensation of multiple stinging needles on my side. I thought for sure I was going to see a swarm of ants when I looked to see what was causing the pain. However, as it turns out it was just the irritating sap of the agave.

You would think that this type of dermatitis inducing liquid would keep a gopher at bay. Not so; a hungry gopher will definitely take down an agave (even before the plant is fermented into tequila).

Jan 14, 2014 Update:

Georgie Lee, a contributing reader from Southern California has shared some of her own gopher insight. She informs that gophers have eaten her agave stating, “The agave was eaten like an apple”

Blue Agave

Aloe (Aloe)

Unfortunately, I was again misled to believe that gophers don’t like the gooey sap of aloe. I guess my gophers didn’t read the book, because they took several of my poor aloe down to the stump.

Aloe variegata with tiny Euphorbia obesa growing by accident in the right hand corner

Onions, Scallions, etc (Allium species)

Many say that it is the strong odor of onions that deters gophers. However, too many other people have told me that gophers have devoured their onions. Therefore, I am putting it in the gopher snack section.

Oct 29, 2013 Update:

Dallas, a contributing reader from Idaho says that potatoes, garlic, and onions are gopher food.

Scallions photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scallion

Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii)

Several (online) authors have stated that the Butterfly bush is gopher resistant. However, I have also read quite a few reports from other people who lost their Butterfly bushes to gophers. Therefore, I feel compelled to add it to this part of the article list.

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Tracie Mazlo, a contributing reader states, that although they have a very bad gopher problem, they have had good luck with Butterfly Bushes.

Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii)

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

I have seen a lot of reports proclaiming that gophers won’t eat potatoes.

However, I find this totally amazing and hard to believe. I mean seriously, a big fat juicy potato should be a root lover’s dream. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the potato is in the Nightshade family. None the less, I am now adding potatoes to the gopher food section.

October 29, 2013 Update:

Dallas, who is a contributing reader from Idaho, has shared some of his own personal gopher- potato insight. Basically, his potato crop was destroyed by pocket gophers. (his full text can be read in the comments section at the bottom of the page for Oct 29, 2013). Thanks Dallas.

potato photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato

Hydrangea (Hydrangea)

Several (online) authors have stated that Hydrangea is gopher resistant. However, I have also read a lot of compelling reports from other people who lost their Hydrangea to gophers. Therefore, I feel compelled to add Hydrangea to this part of the list.

Hydrangea (Hydrangea)

Beardtongues (Penstemon)

I had read that penstemon was a gopher resistant plant. However, a recent comment from a contributing reader has convinced me to move this option to the non-resistant section of this post.

May 4, 2014 Update:

Kimberly N, a contributing reader states that, “I wish penstemon was gopher-proof, but mine certainly were not. All four gallon size plants vanished within a couple of weeks of planting in the fall. The gophers also ate at least four achillea and recently two large pennisetum. They don’t seem interested in the lavender, epilobium, or myoporum…”

Penstemon photo credit via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstemon

Hibiscus:

Jan 30, 2014 Update:

Tracie Mazlo, a contributing reader states, that although they have a very bad gopher problem, they have had good luck with Hibiscus.

However….

June 29, 2016 update:

Jill Adams, a contributing reader states that “I have two hibiscus plants and hose little terrorists ate those too!!! Grrr”

I have recently heard a few other recent stories about gophers eating hibiscus and therefore, I am putting it down here into the not gopher resistant section.

Disclaimer:

Gophers may eat just about any plant if they are hungry enough. When in doubt, cage the roots of your plants.

]]>http://tastylandscape.com/2013/08/28/gopher-resistant-plants-truth-and-lies/feed/1561094How to build a gopher cagehttp://tastylandscape.com/2013/06/09/how-to-build-a-gopher-cage/
http://tastylandscape.com/2013/06/09/how-to-build-a-gopher-cage/#commentsSun, 09 Jun 2013 01:41:24 +0000http://tastylandscape.com/?p=484How to build a simple and effective gopher cage Background: If you live in California and you are not in a major city, you probably have gophers lurking nearby. Gophers are a serious problem and can kill a young tree very quickly. There are a lot of ways to address these pests which range ...

Background:

If you live in California and you are not in a major city, you probably have gophers lurking nearby.

Gophers are a serious problem and can kill a young tree very quickly.

There are a lot of ways to address these pests which range from poisons to owl boxes. However, no solution is full proof and therefore it is a good idea to have a second line of defense for your fruit trees.

(Side note: if you have ever thought about getting one of those electric/solar Sonic Spikes for Moles and Gophers, dont bother. In my experience they don’t do anything at all).

A gopher cage is a great way to protect your newly planted tree. The roots will eventually meander outside the protection of the cage. However, the core roots of the tree will be protected.

You can find gopher cages pre-made, but these are not available everywhere and they are considerably more expensive than the cost of making one yourself. Besides, you can custom make the cage to what ever size you want.

What you will need:

Step 1, Get some galvanized hardware cloth:

You can get this at many different places including Amazon.comas well as your your favorite home improvement/hardware store.

The cloth usually comes in rolls that are 2 to 3 feet high and in variable lengths. For gophers, the wire mesh hole openings should be no less than a 1/2 inch (the last number in the given dimensions on the package). If the holes are too big then small gophers can squeeze through. Chicken wire for example has holes that are too big.

Galvanized hard wire cloth

Step 1 cont, put on some heavy duty gloves:

The ends of the wire is stiff and sharp.

Cut the wire mesh to size:

Just bend the wire cloth to the diameter you want for your tree roots and cut from the rest of the roll.

The bigger diameter, the more of the roots you will protect, but the bigger the hole will have to be.

You can use wire cutters or metal cutting scissors to cut the wire hard wire cloth.

Secure the sides of the gopher cage:

Attach the ends of the wire with some zip ties. Allow about an inch of overlap.

Wire cloth cylinder secured with zip ties

Make the bottom of the gopher cage:

Bend one end of the wire mesh cylinder in half and make a crease in the wire. Do this again in the other direction. In doing so you have quickly measured out 4 roughly equal distance spots in the wire cage.

Now cut down the wire mesh where you creased it to create flaps.

The amount you need to cut down will depend on the diameter of the cage. A bigger diameter cage will require more cutting so the flaps can cover the bottom.

If there is still a gap at the bottom that is open after you fold the flaps, you will have to cut down further to make larger flaps or add in a patch.

Secure the flaps with a few zip ties.

Fold once on one side and crease

Fold again in the other direction

After you cut down about 6inch where the creases are made, fold over the edges to create the bottom of the gopher cage.

Put the gopher cage in the hole:

Flip over the cage you created and drop it in the hole.

You can adjust the height with soil you add in.

Many suggest that the gopher cage should rise about 4 inches above soil level to prevent gophers from walking over the top and getting into the cage.

Depending on how much you want sticking up from the soil line his might affect your decision to get the 2 foot tall or 3 foot tall hardware cloth. However, wire sticking up out of the ground may be a hazard due to the the exposed sharp ends of the wire cage. On the other hand, if it is sticking up (a lot) it may also deter rabbits.

Gopher Cage Update:

Cage: 1

Gopher: 0

That’s the new score in the ongoing battle.

Below is a photo I took of some dramatic subterranean activity along the outer edge of the gopher cage. As you can see, the gopher cage has stopped the varmint in its tracks despite what looks to be a major effort to get inside the cage. That hole in the picture is new and located in an area of previously very solid ground.

Gophers can’t get past the cage.

I am sure those pesky rodents got some of the smaller rootlets that grew past the confines of the cage. However, the core of the tree is safe. In fact, you can see in the photo below where the Longan tree (Dimocarpus longan) has put out a new flush of growth that doesn’t seem to be affected by the unsolicited soil aeration.

This Longan tree continues to grow well with the help of the protective gopher cage.

]]>http://tastylandscape.com/2013/06/09/how-to-build-a-gopher-cage/feed/44484Euphorbia: A dangerous allyhttp://tastylandscape.com/2013/04/24/122/
http://tastylandscape.com/2013/04/24/122/#commentsWed, 24 Apr 2013 03:37:19 +0000http://tastylandscape.com/?p=122Euphorbia Euphorbia are beautiful and dangerous. If you understand them, they can be an asset to your garden. If you don’t, you may find yourself in some major pain. The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Pocket gophers are a challenging foe. However, there are a few groups of plants that gophers will ...

Euphorbia are beautiful and dangerous. If you understand them, they can be an asset to your garden. If you don’t, you may find yourself in some major pain.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend:

Pocket gophers are a challenging foe. However, there are a few groups of plants that gophers will not touch. One of these is the Euphorbia genus. As you might imagine, gophers keep their distance from this plant for good reason and the plants in his group need to be respected by us as well. Therefore, the majority of this post will be a cautionary tale and some unsubstantiated advice on how to deal with Euphorbia’s menacing features.

Euphorbia milii. (AKA: Crown of thorns)

Euphorbia Species:

The Euphorbia species is a surprisingly diverse appearing group of plants. The phenotypic expression ranges from looking like a columnar cactus to leafy thorny ground-cover. Euphorbia are originally from “The Old World” which for the most part means that they are from Africa.

Euphorbia ingens, (its not a cactus)

Euphorbia encounter:

My first encounter with Euphorbia occurred when I was cutting some plants around the yard. My final task for that evening was to take some cuttings from a beautiful bush like succulent growing in a far corner of my yard. The plant had long pencil like branches with no leaves. It seemed interesting and harmless enough so I cut a branch to grow the cutting.

Not a good idea.

Cutting a large branch was easy enough; however, I was surprised by the large amount of milky sap that seemed to jet out of the plant as if it was under pressure. This Elmer’s glue like sap prayed accost my arm and was particularly sticky. I didn’t think too much about it at the time. However, somewhere in my primitive mind, I remembered something about white sap being dangerous so I quickly and diligently washed it off.

Euphorbia tirucalli. Sticks on Fire

Later that night:

At about 2am I awoke from sleep with the distinct sensation that my arm was on fire. It felt like white hot fire.

Once I got my bearings and began to wake up, I realized that the house was quiet and there was no smoke.

However, the unnaturally intense burning pain persisted without explanation. Then it dawned on me; the pain on my arm was in the same place where the sap had landed earlier.

Frantically:

My computer didn’t seem to start up fast enough as I was desperate for some answers.

Through the adrenalin, I identified the culprit plant as Euphorbia tirucalli. (you-FOR-bee-uh teer-ooh-KAL-eye).

The plant also goes by many different common names: (Firestick Plants, Indian Tree Spurge, Naked Lady, Pencil Tree, Rubber-Hedge, Sticks on Fire or Milk Bush).

Treatment:

I found a variety of suggestions for immediate care. However, the following general suggestions would probably work for many different types of toxic plant sap.

The best first step is to get the sap off of you as best as you can. The faster the better b/c Euphorbia sap dries fast and then it is harder to remove.

Removing Euphorbia sap is particularly difficult b/c it acts a bit like glue and dries clear. Even when you think it is gone, trace invisible residue can cause major symptoms.

Therefore some sources recommend that you wash the area for at least 15 min… or in my experience more like > 30 min.

Soap, water and time. Some people say milk works for some reason, but I didn’t try that.

But don’t take my advice. If this happens to you see a medical professional.

Additional pearls of treatment information:

Don’t wash off the sap while over dirty dishes in the sink because it may then stick to your dishes. You don’t want to ingest even a tiny amount of residue from this powerful toxin.

Discard anything that you think might have sap on it. The sap can cause problems later even if you don’t see it. Throw away whatever you used to clean yourself with when you are done.

IMPORTANT, if you are in the shower trying to wash off the sap be very careful. Think about how the water drains off the area you are washing. One could easily wash the sap residue to another, uhh… vulnerable place downstream on your body. You definitely don’t want to damage your extra sensitive body parts.

Overall, if you get the sap on your skin, or worst, in your eye or ingest it, you should see your doctor or go to the hospital ASAP… But please don’t drive yourself because the pain is very distracting-making it unsafe to drive. If the sap is in your eyes it can cause blindness (obviously not good while trying to drive either).

Benadryl may help with the redness but the main thing is to remove the sap. Depending on how bad things are, your physician may give you additional medications such as anti-inflammatory steroids.

How bad is it?

As mentioned, the sap is the big problem and is extremely toxic.

It causes burns, and can cause blindness if it gets in the eyes.

I have also read some articles implicating the plant as a cause of an aggressive type of lymphoma. This cancer may in part be a result of ingesting the sap as part of folk “herbal remedies.”

More acutely, many people have died after a minimal amount of sap ingestion.

So beware, stay away, and keep it away from kids and animals.

Back to the gophers:

Because of my traumatic experience, euphorbia plants were once my least favorite group of plants. However, I can forgive. More importantly, I have figured out how to make this liability into an asset.

For example, there is a daunting slope on one side of my yard where little more than weeds grow. Gophers have settled into this area and their digging has made the erosion problem rather severe.

So I thought about it a bit and the natural solution is Euphorbia. Gophers won’t eat it and may even avoid the area where the roots grow. The plants also thrive in the dry soil of a slope and I don’t have to worry about the sap because no one should be walking around on the slope.

Plant Care:

This plant grows very well in dry environments, often with no irrigation once established.

They are originally from Eastern and South Africa but they have adapted all over the world.

In some areas, such as Brazil, it is grown it as a fence. I can imagine that is very effective as a fence b/c no one wants to touch the thing twice. Some websites discuss how the plant can be trained and shaped. But that requires putting yourself in major danger.